MRC has provided the IPMS/USA reviewer corps with Trumpeter’s new 2024 tooled 1/72^nd scale US M1240 M-ATV MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected – All Terrain Vehicle).

In the Box

The kit is enclosed in a top open box with a photo of the completed kit on the cover. Inside are several bags of sprues and parts all individually wrapped for protection. Five (5) tires are bagged and made from black vinyl. Also, enclosed is a small decal sheet and die-cut masks for the clear parts. The instructions are well illustrated with 29 steps.

Review Process

Trumpeter has you starting with assembling the chassis. Steps 1-13 covers the entire chassis assembly and because of the independent suspension of each wheel, I ran into some alignment issues at the very end. So, care must be taken to make sure all four (4) axles are installed properly so that all the tires are touching a flat surface in the end.

Another in ICM’s range of paint sets, this time for use with any WWII US armoured vehicles.

The set contains the following 12ml paint pots; I have listed what I believe to be their intended uses, with designations from Specification 3-1 1943:

• 1041 Buff – Sand No.306 or Earth Yellow No.305
• 1027 Gun Metal Metallic – tracks
• 1071 Camouflage Green – Light Green No.321
• 1072 US Dark Green – Olive Drab No.319
• 2005 Black Primer – Black No.10
• 1001 White – White No.11

The back of the box has a couple of drawings showing suggested uses for each colour.

ICM Holding has put out a new model of their Horch vehicle. This rendition is a Kfz.70 with an MG 34 machine gun and mount for the rear area of the vehicle.

The box art for the kit is first rate and lends itself well to the actual Kfz.70 in the kit. The box is compact and will fit well in any stash until you decide to build it. Although the box is small, the material within the box was not smashed together and no damage was noted when breaking out the materials from the box.

From ICM’s website,

Since the summer of 2023, Leopard 2A6 tanks have been in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They actively participate in battles in the east and northeast of Ukraine. Some of them undergo specific modifications due to the nature of modern combat. Recent combat engagements have imposed new requirements, particularly improving protection against shaped charge munitions and attack drones. To address this, additional protective elements in the form of grids are added to the combat vehicles. Solid screens of various types are also used to protect the running gear. The Leopard 2A6 tanks of the Ukrainian army undergo such modifications, and several of these combat vehicles were seen in action in the fall of 2023.

Adolf Hitler invaded Western Europe in May 1940. After breaking through the supposedly 'impenetrable' Ardennes, Erwin Rommel was at the forefront of the Wehrmacht's audacious drive through France. Rommel, who had no prior experience leading an armored division in combat, moved with such speed and nerve that he frequently surprised French units by arriving far earlier than expected.

Crossing the Meuse River, we follow Rommel—in what he referred to as 'practically a lightning Tour de France'—as he pushed through northern France to the English Channel. His spectacular victory at the coastal port of Saint-Valéry-en-Caux was crowned by the capture of Cherbourg.

Following the armistice, Rommel was involved in reenacting certain battles, such as crossing the Somme, for the documentary Sieg im Westen (Victory in the West). This is the story of Rommel and the 7th Panzer Division—the so-called 'Ghost Division'—in France, 1940.